Monday 22 April 2013

Week 3: A Near Disaster Averted

You may have noticed that this weeks blog post is a little bit late.  It wasn't for the lack of trying. I'd thought about this weeks activity in advance.  It was planned for Sunday evening, I'd invited my Scottish friend around to share the experience and I'd almost starved myself in preparation all day for what has to be the most quintessential delicacy from north of the boarder.  

No not the humble haggis. I am of course talking about the Mighty Fried Mars Bar!

The Best Laid Plans...

Unfortunately I didn't take in to account the lack of hot-food outlets willing to humour me in cooking up this this rare and desirable treat.  I'd bought my own Mars bar, all they had to do was dip it in their pre-made batter, drop it in the hot fat and let it sizzle until golden but no, I was turned away at the till.  Mission aborted. Food Fad Fail...or was it?

What's a Girls to Do

Sunday was a write off after my disappointment in the take-away shop and I spent the rest of the evening thinking about how I could make this right.  I was only on week 3, I couldn't allow myself to be defeated at this early stage.  And then it struck me - I have a Mars bar, I have a pan of oil and I have a bowl of batter.  All the ingredients are there in my kitchen.  There's only one thing for it then, if this fad was to succeed then I'd have to make my own.  

I soon found out that this is what Mondays are made for.  I'll talk you through the process...

How to Make a Mighty Fried Mars Bar   

First take a Mars bar.  I'd recommend the original and best although I'm sure you could use a cheaper supermarket version if you just wanted to try it without fully committing. Unwrap it and set it to one side whilst you prepare the other elements.

Mix an egg with flour and milk to make a batter.  You don't necessarily need to follow a recipe for this as it needs to be fairly thick to coat the Mars bar.  Pancake consistency, for example, would be too thin.  If you feel it is too thin just add more flour.  Mix well until you have a paste that looks something like that below.
Place 4-5cm of oil in a pan and place on the heat until very hot.  Test the temperature of the oil by dropping a small amount of batter in to the oil.  The batter should sizzle and ball.  Be really careful.  
 Cover the Mars bar with the batter using a spoon for better coverage.
 When the Mars bar is fully covered and the oil is nice and hot, just drop it in and stand back! 
You may have to turn it once depending on how deep your oil is.  It is ready when it's golden brown.
(There are 2 Mighty Fried Mars Bars in the pan below though I didn't eat them both!)

Introducing the Mighty Fried Mars Bar! 

Ok, so it looks fairly gross on the outside.  That's caramel seeping out from the side by the way, although you're right if you're thinking that it looks as though somebody has squeezed a boil!
Neither the outside nor the inside resembles the product that it previously was but don't like that put you off. 

 The crisp crunch on the outside gives way to a smooth, chocolate-caramel centre.  Think melted, warm Mars bar wrapped in a pancake.  Mmmmm.

Verdict

It was disappointing that the local eateries wouldn't indulge me but ultimately it was no big loss.  From the comfort of my own kitchen I was able to create a truly tasty but unusual snack that needed very little effort in its preparation but had a handsome payoff.  Whilst I certainly have a sweet-tooth, I'd also recommend this to people less sugar inclined as the savoury element of the batter detracts from the sweetness of the Mars bar.

I will definitely be indulging in the Mighty Fried Mars Bar again in the future but not too regularly though, I hasten to add (before the Fat-Police turn on their sirens!). 

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